Quality control key to groundnut exports

Improvement in the quality of groundnut is crucial for India to boost its exports of the commodity. This was the conclusion of a seminar organised by the Indian Oilseeds and Produce Exporters Association (IOPEA) in Rajkot.

The meet informed groundnut processors in the Saurashtra region on methods to upgrade techniques for quality improvement.

"If we would like to increase our exports of groundnut, we must improve the quality of our peanut by adopting some steps for quality improvement." said Kishor Tanna, chairman, IOPEA.

"From very negligible exports in the 50s and the 60s, exports of oilseeds from India have grown to 4,50,000 tonne last year, valued at over Rs 1500 crore."

India is one of the largest producers of groundnuts in the world. Indian groundnuts are available in different varieties: Bolds or Runners, Javas or Spanish and Red Natals; and have a rich nutty flavour, sweet taste, crunchy texture and a relatively longer shelf life.

"The surge in exports is largely due to the flood like situation in China. Today, India is the largest exporter of sesame seeds, with a market share of over 35 per cent. Minor oilseeds such as niger seeds, sunflower seeds, safflower seeds and mustard seeds have also received exporter's attention," Tanna said.

"We had organized such a seminar in Karnataka earlier this year and it proved to be immensely beneficial to the processors of groundnut. So, we decided to have a seminar at Rajkot, the heart of Saurashtra, to improve the groundnut process in this region," he added.

Groundnut is available in India throughout the year due to a two-crop cycle harvested in March and October. On an average, India produces 7- 8 million tonnes of groundnuts (unshelled) every year.

In fact, considering the current export figures, India has a much larger potential to supply high quality groundnuts to the international buyer. More than 500 process houses have been developed in Junagadh district only.

Since the last two years, IOPEA has also undertaken project of crop estimates for sesame seeds and groundnuts in the state of Gujarat. This unique service has proved to be greatly valuable for exporters.

Pravin Gupta, general manager, Agricultural and Processed Foods Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), New Delhi, assured to groundnut processors that APEDA will help them upgrade their process units.

Gupta said the European Union recently rejected 17 containers of peanut from India because of the poor quality. "If this happens in the future, these countries will stop importing our goods. Though we have a 7-lakh tonne market for groundnut in Europe, we are exporting less than 10 thousand tonne".